IMF (International Monetary Fund) has been a question dogging the PTI government since 2018. On January 11, 2022, Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed fears that the government would have to go to IMF again if Pakistan’s exports did not increase sharply.
On top of all, the price hike that people have suffered for over three years now has not abated a bit, with most food item prices and even bare essentials becoming hard to buy. It appears to be more interested in complying with the IMF conditions by introducing the mini-budget that is likely to be more harm than good to citizens of Pakistan.
With the mini-budget, the government has imposed Rs. 350 billion in new taxes on the people of Pakistan who are already reeling under high and unprecedented inflation. The taxes imposed will directly or indirectly hit the country’s people. The government must revise its privatisation policy and adopt an aggressive approach by ensuring that a certain number of manufacturing units are strictly under state control.
ZUNAIRA HAROON
LAHORE
